Method of manufacturing gasolene.



l. Bi WEIR.

y METHOD 0F MANUFACTURING GASOLENE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. lh IIS-IB.

WITNESSES cran sanas AJAMES. n wnn, oF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING GASOLENE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented ct. 22, MMS.

Application led April 11, 1918. Serial No. 228,036. v

To ZZ whom, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES B. WEIR, a citizen of the United States, a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, and a temporary resident of Charleston, in thecounty of Kanawha and State of fest Virginia, have made a new and useful Invention in Method of Manufacturing Gasolene, of which the following is a specification. Y v

This invention relates to a method and apparatus v for Vthe extraction of gasolene compressor 'equipped with a suitable inter-` cooler. then in passing the compressed gas (compressed to about 250 pounds) through a cooler or condenser where the gas is cooled and the gasolene condensed to liquid form, then passing the compressed and cooled gas and liquid gasolene through a drip which separates the gasolene (the condensate) from the gas. The condensate is passed to weathering or storage tanks and the gas either passes to the gas main or is utilized on the property as a fuel for gas engines or the like. l

If,- in the final stage iofcompression the gas is raised to 250 lbs. or more, it has been found that the' weathering process is necessary to reduce the vapor tension to a point where the railroads will handle the product in tank cars. In some cases it is now com,- mon to blend this condensatewith 'naphtha before weathering. The standard set by the railroads requires a vapor tension of not more than ten pounds at 100 'Fahrenheit.-

The weathering is either done' in an open tank by normal evaporationor' evaporation is facilitated by passing steam through the product thus driving off the higher or more volatile fractions which cause the excessive vapor tension.

If the final compression is not above 70 to S0 lbs. the lighter or morevvolatile fractions are. not liquefied and iofcourse the product condensed from the gas will not require as much weathering, since the vapor tension will be less than where the more volatile fractions are condensed and contalned in the liquefied product.

Another method of extracting gasolene from natural gas has been by one or more of the absorption methods. One of these methods commonly used consists in passing the gas on its way from the wells to the main line through receptacles containin an absorbent menstruum in the form o a relatively heavy oil capable of absorbing a proportion at least of the gasolene content of the natural gas. After the menstruum has become saturated the gasol'ene is distilled off and the menstruum. used 'over again in the receptacles. Still another method has been to subject the natural gas under pressure to the action of an absorbent such as naphtha, whereby the naphtha takes up from the gas a proportion at least of the gasolene content thereof whereby the volume -of the liquid is increased and its gravity raised.

Vith all of the methods with which I am familiar ywhere relatively high pressures are l amount of the lower fractions of the prod-` uct which at atmospheric pressure and temperature would be a. stable liquidl are car! ried away with the lighter or more volatile fractions and in this way lost.

An object of this invention is to provide a method of gasolene manufacture from natural gas whereby the yield of gasolene is increased and the losses heretofore encountered materially reduced.. My method broadly consists of three distinct steps so combined and correlated that substantially all of the content of the natural gas is recovered which at atmospheric pressure and temperature is liquid.

In practising my process, the gas as it issues from the wells is4 passed to a two stage compressor, the first stage of which preferably raises 4the pressure of the gas to 76 lbs. from which it is passed through rates the liquid gasolene from the the gasolene is taken from the tank intoxa` in ,a verticall tier.

ably consisting of a coil of pipes immersed in a tank of cold water (55 At the outlet of the condenser the gas passes through an accumulating tank, which sepagas, then trap, 'which works automatically, and the gasolene is discharged into a closed storage tank.

The gas now partially denuded is passed through an absorption apparatus which consists of a number (preferably 10) of 12" pipes about 25 long arranged horizontally Extending lengthwise of each of these 12 pipes is a 2 pipe arranged near the bottom. The inner end of each 2 pipe is capped and perforated along its bottom with 1/16 holes spaced about 1% apart. The 12 pipes are interconnected for gas passage in such a manner that the gas after it issues from the 2 pipe in the lowermost 12" pipe and after passing thirds filled with the base liquid.

The apparatus is arranged so that the partially denuded gas from the condenser continuously passes through the 12 pipes in series and at a pressure of 250 lbs. and so that the naphtha or kerosene base which is pumped into the uppermost 12 pipe` passes down through the 12" pipes in series and out of the loweremost pipe, from which point itis forced to the storage tankl-containing the gasolene derived by compression and cooling. The gas in passing through the 1/16 holes in the 2 pipes is broken up into fine streams and is thus caused to intimately mix with the base liquid. The

. system is so proportioned and arranged that about one million feet of gas passes through the 12 pipes in every 24 hrs. The apparatus composed of the 12 pipes when each is filled to the proper level contains about 1,200 gallons of menstruum or base liquid and the gasflows therethrough at the `rate of one million feet in every 24 hours.

The menstruum or base is pumped into the top of the 12 apparatus at the rate of 800 gallons -in every 24 hours.

As the complete plant consists of a number of these 12 apparatus depending upon the amount of gas utilized it has been found preferable to pump into one of them 50 gallons of the base at a time then to shift to the next and so on leaving an interval be- .pressure and temperature.

tween each pumping. If itis desired however the base may be continuously pumped into the 12 apparatus at the rate of about 800 gallons in every 24 hours.

The gasolene d-erived from the compressionand cooling process runs from 88 to 90 Baume and the product from the 12 apparatus (kereosene 47 ABaume plus gasolene) runs from 58 to 60 Baume. These two products are mixed in the storage tank before referred to in the proportion of about one-third of gasolene (derived from compression and cooling) and two-thirds of productfderived from the 12 apparatus. The product from the storage tank which runs about Baume and which has a relatively high vapor tension must -be reduced to about 644 Baum before it will be handled by therailroads. The product therefore is run into a storage or weathering tank, and this is preferably a horizontal tank adapted to withstand relatively highl pressures and is there steamed. The steam is led into the bottom ofthe steaming tank through a 2 pipe which extends from end to end thereof and which is provided with 1/16 holes so that an .intimate mixture of the steam and gasolene is obtained. T he gasolene is steamed until the proper gravity' and vapor tension is obtained (10 lbs. at 100 F.). The vapors arising from the gasolene during the steaming operation are conducted from the top of the steaming tank to a 2 pipe which runs lengthwise, inthe bottom of a storage fortifying-tank containing either naphtha or kerosene, the base with which I start the process.

I have found that by passing these vapors from the steaming tank and intimately mixing them with the kerosene or naphtha base I can increase the gallonage of the base 10% and raise its gravity 44 and this which I term a fortified base is the liquid which I pump through the 12' apparatus as abase or menstruum. If desired the vapor from the fortifying tank may be led to the bottom of a second fortifying tank containing base material although I ind that if the first fortifying tank contains a suflicient quantity of the untreated `kerosene or naphtha, this second tank is not necessary.

The process is a continuous one after being set in operation and it will be seen thatv the only losses, if they can be called losses, are the vapors 'derived from the natural gas which are not liquid at atmospheric I have .found that the ultimate gain due to this process over the vprocess in which the high degree light gasolene is blended with naphtha in the usual way or in which the vapors due to weatheringare allowed to escape is approximately 10 to 15% in gallonage with a gain in gravity of 4%3 to 5 and, since this gain in gallonage in my plant using two Lacasse million feet of gas averages a thousand gal lons every 24 hours it will be seen that the saving is extremely important.

The product from the 12 apparatus flows away to the storage tank in proportion to the amount of base added thereto plus the amount of gasolene absorbed from the gas passing through the apparatus.

In the drawings the ligure schematically represents a complete plant for carrying out my process.

In practising the process gas from the wells enters line 4, is compressed to about 70 pounds by lowstage compressor 5, passes through an inter-cooler 6 and has its pressure raised te about 250 pounds in the high pressure compressor 7. From the high pressure cylinder the gas passes through a condenser 8 which consists of a coil of pipes immersed in 4water maintained at approximately F. From the condenser the gas passes through a separator 9 which separates the condensate from the gas. The condensate which is a gasolene of about 88 to 900 Baume passes by means of line 10 through a trap 11 and is collected in a mixing tank 12.

The partially denuded gas passes from separator 9 through line 13 to the absorber apparatus 14 consisting of ten 12 headers as shown in Figure 1.

The absorber apparatus consists of a number of 12 horizontal headers arranged in a vertical tier. Extending lengthwise within each header and near the bottom thereof is a 2 pipe capped at its inner end 16 and along its bottom drilled with 1/16 holes spaced about 14 apart. rll`he headers are interconnected by means of pipes so, that the base material (kerosene or naphtha) flows downwardly from the uppermost header 2O through the series against the gas which passes up through the series and for the passage of'which gas the headers are interconnected by means of pipes. The

. connections between the headers for the passage of the base liquid are so arranged as to maintain a constant level of liquid in each header, or so that each header is always about two-thirds filled with liquid. Thel gas connections from one header to the next arearranged so that-a trap is provided, the upper` portion of which extends above the liquid level so that the liquid, when the issues therefrom through a pipe 17 and' 'passes into 2 pipe 18 arranged in the botby means of a pump 25 is forced into a steam l weathering tank 26. Live steam from a suitable source of steam supply such as 'a gas fired boiler is led through a pipe 27 and caused to issue through perforations in a pipe or coil 28 within the bottom of the tank. In this way the lighter volatiles or higher fractions of the mixed or blended product within the steam tank are driven off. These are conducted by means of a pipe 29 into a fortifying tank 30 containing raw or untreated base material such as kerosene. The fortifying tank is provided in its bottom with a perforated pipe 31 through which the vapors drivenpff from the product within tank 26 are caused to pass by the pressure in the steaming tank into the liquid in tank 30. rl`he liquid in the fort-ifying tank by this means absorbs the high volatiles. If it is desired, the vapors arising in tank 30, which are ordinarily vented through vent 30'@L to the atmosphere, may be carried to a second fortifying tank similar to tank 30, or may be caught and compressed to form liquid gas or used as fuel under the steam generator land for that purpose collected in ay gasometer.

rlfhe fortified base from tank 30 passes by means of pipe 32 to pump 19 which forces it into the upper 12 header against the pressure of the gas therein. The kerosene is stored in a tank 33 and from this tank by means of a line 34 flows into fortifying tank 30. rlhe finished gasolene is withdrawn from steam weathering tank 26 through pipe 35 and stored in storage tank 36,

The lean gas after it leaves the uppermost 12H header of the absorber passes through line 37 to a separator 38 and from the separator which separates out any liquids contained in the gas the gas passes through pipe 39 to the main or point of consumption.

Having thus described my invention what l claim is 'i 1. The method of manufacturing gasolene, which consists in extracting gasolene from Inatural gas by compression and cooling, in subjecting the partially denuded'gas to an absorption step, in vblending the products thus derived, in reducing the vapor tension of the blended product by driving loff a por.

tion of the more volatile constituents thereof to obtain the inished product, then in absorbing a portion of such volatile constituents in a hydrocarbon liquid heavier than gasolene and in utilizing this product as the gasol ene.

'3. The method of manufacturing gasolene, which consists in liberating a portion of the lighter fractions of a hydrocarbon liquid by means of heat, in absorbing a portion of such lighter fractions in a hydrocarbon liquid heavier than gasolene, in passing natural gas through such liquid and then in blending such liquid with high grade gasolene.

4. 4The method of manufacturing gasolene,

which consists in steaming a hydrocarbon liquid thereby driving off a portion' of its lighter fractions, in passing such lighter fractions through a hydrocarbon liquid heavier than gasolene, then in passing natural gas through such liquid and then in blending such liquid with high grade gasoH lene. A

5. The method of manufacturing gasolene.l which consists in compressing and cooling natural gas containing gasolene, in separating the gasolene from the gas and storing the same, in passing thepartially denuded gas under pressure through a liquid heavier than gasolene, in mixing such liquid with they gasolene `derived by compression and cooling, in steaming such mixture, in liberating the lighter fractions from such mixture then in passing such' lighterv fractions through a liquid hydrocarbon heavier than gasolene. i

6. The method of manufacturing gasolene which consists in compressing and cooling gas containing gasolene, in separating the gasolene thus derived from the gas and storing the same, in breaking up the partially denuded gas and passing the same under pressure through an absorbent base material whereby gasolene is absorbed from such gas, in mixing such base material with the gasoleneA derived by compression and cooling, in steaming such mixture, then passingv the vapors driven from such mixture during.V the steaming thereof into and through a liquid hydrocarbon heavier than gasolene.

7. The method of manufacturing gasolene, which consists in compressing and cooling` gas containingA gasolene, in separating 'the gasolene thus derived from the gas and storing the same, in breaking up the partially denuded gas and passing the same-V under pressure through an absorbent base material whereby gasolene is absorbed from such Igas, in mixing such base material with the gasolene derived by compression and cooling, in weathering such mixture then passing the vapors liberated from such mixture (hiring weathering into and through a liquid hydro carbon heavier than gasolene and in utilizing such hydrocarbon liquid after its gravity has been raised by the absorption of such vapors as the base material in the absorption step.

8. The method of manufacturing gasolene, which consists in compressing and cooling gas containing gasolene, in separating the gasolene thus derived from the gas and collecting the same, in finely dividing the partially denuded gas and passing the same under pressure through an absorbent base material whereby gasolene is absorbed from such gas, in mixing such base material with the gasolene derived by compression and cooling, in steamingy such mixture to form the finished product, then in absorbing a portion of the vapors driven off from such mix*r ture during the steaming thereof in a hydi'ocarbon liquid heavier than gasolene and in utilizing such hydrocarbon liquid as the base material in the absorption step.

9. That step in the art of manufacturing liquid fuel which consists in reducing the vapor tension of relatively high grade gasolene by steaming the samel and in passing the vapors driven off during the steaming thereof through a liquid hydrocarbon heavier than gasolene whereby its gallonage is increased and its gravity on the BaumeJ scale raised.

l0. Themethod ofmanufacturing gasolene, which consists in steaming a hydrocarbon liquid thereby liberating a. portion of its lighter fractions, in passing such lighter .fractions through a hydrocarbon liquid heavier than gasolene and in passing natural gas containing gasolene through such heavier hydrocarbon liquid.

1.1. That step in the art of manufacturing liquid fuel which kconsists inreducing the vapor tension of hydrocarbon liquid of relatively/@high gravity on the Baume scale and in passing the releasedv vapors through a liquid hydrocarbon of'he'avier gravity on the Baume scale whereby the gallonage -of-the latter is increased and its gravity on the Baume scale raised.

In testimony whereof," subscribed 1918.

II have hereunto my name this 2d day of April,

JAMES B. wEin'. 

